


Blood Moon

by Lynx22281



Series: Howl at the Moon [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, Minor Character Death, Mpreg, Pregnant!Dean, Werewolves, alpha!Castiel, omega!dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-25
Updated: 2015-11-25
Packaged: 2018-05-03 07:29:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5282114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lynx22281/pseuds/Lynx22281
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They settle in for a quiet, cozy night, but then the unexpected happens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood Moon

**Author's Note:**

> *waves* Hi! I'm still alive. My muse has been on an extended vacation. I haven't been able to write ANYTHING. I finally got the idea for this little bit the other day and decided to give it a go. I was trying to keep my thoughts focused on Sanctifying Grace so that maybe I'll get it finished sometime. Oh well. :)
> 
> Spoiler: Dean and the pup are fine. Nothing bad happens to them in this installment of Howl at the Moon.

“Hey,” Dean greeted softly as Cas came out on the veranda with a steaming mug in each hand.  In the not too far off distance under the gaze of the full moon, their packmates’ howling calls and answers could be heard echoing through the hills.  “Thanks for staying in with me tonight.”

 

With a tired smile, the alpha handed a Darth Vader head mug down to Dean before sitting next to him on the wicker couch.  “Actually, I’m pretty relieved you wanted to stay home.”

 

Tonight’s pack run was supposed to have been the last duty they undertook before starting their official paternity leave tomorrow morning, but Dean had been having an increasingly difficult time over the past week getting any sleep as his internal organs and joints were losing the battle over space with their ever growing pup.  No amount of pillows could prop him up well enough to alieve the ache in his back and hips or stop the chronic heartburn he’d had for over a month.  When he’d finally given up on getting any sleep last night around 3am, he declared himself done with everything until after the pup was born.

 

Dean’s discomfort wasn’t going over easy with the alpha either.  Cas had refused to leave his pregnant mate’s side at night even as Dean tossed and turned trying to find some position that suited both him and the pup for at least a few desperately needed winks of sleep, which meant the alpha was dead on his feet during the workday and usually ended up passed out at his desk if he was left undisturbed for more than 15 minutes at a time.  Naomi had had a hard time not cracking a smile a few hours ago when she’d startled him awake after an impromptu nap – Cas’d had three paperclips stuck to his forehead.

 

Everyone told them repeatedly that it was ok to take their leave early, that nobody expected them to keep up appearances as Pack Alpha and Pack Omega while they waited out the long, wearing days until their pup arrived.

 

“More power to the person who can keep working right up ‘til their water breaks,” Dean said, lifting his mug in salute before taking a tentative taste test.  He hummed appreciatively at the warm chocolatey goodness passing over his tongue before heaving a sigh.  As he smoothed the heavy plaid blanket draped over his mountain of a belly with his free hand, he confessed, “I’m not sure I have enough energy to shift, much less run around all night long.”

 

“Ditto,” Cas replied as he tipped up his own mug and snuggled closer to his mate.

 

They stayed out on the porch for a little more than an hour, longer than either of them thought they’d last when they first sat down.  The night was cold, but between the hot chocolate and warm blanket spread over their legs, they were comfortable, temperature-wise at least.  They didn’t talk much, barely having the willpower to stay awake, much less engage in intelligent conversation.  But, the quiet was that easy, contented quiet that had always existed between the two of them, so they didn’t feel the need to fill the space with words.

 

Before the hour-and-a-half mark, Dean started fidgeting, feeling every single spring in the antique outdoor sofa poking at his butt despite the thick cushion he was sitting on.

 

“C’mon,” Cas said, conceding defeat as he stood up to stretch his arms over his head before offering a hand down to Dean.  “Our season two rewatch of Dr. Sexy and the nest are calling.”

 

Dean set his mug on the side table, and then took the alpha’s hand, pulling himself up to his feet.  They meandered slowly through the darkened first floor of the big house to the service elevator, neither of them trusting Dean’s balance or stamina to make it up the stairs without incident.  Dean leaned into Cas’s side the whole way before quietly letting his alpha help him out of his clothes and into his pajamas.  After some maneuvering and fighting with the bed linens, they finally settled down in the big bed.

 

Sometime between the end of episode one and the beginning of episode two, exhaustion finally claimed Dean.  He was dead to the world, melted so far down into a cocoon of pillows and blankets that the top of his head was the only part of him that Cas could see.  When the alpha realized that his mate was snoring, he clicked the television off and spooned up close to the barricade of pillows that separated him from the omega.  He searched around under the covers until he could put his hand on some bare skin before drifting off to sleep himself.

 

*****

 

The buzzing of his cellphone brought Castiel back into the waking world several hours later.  Frowning, he groggily floundered around to untangle himself from the sheets enough to flap a hand at his nightstand.  His uncoordinated effort was rewarded by the thud of his phone hitting the floor and rattling under the bed.  With a huff, he glared up at the ceiling, silently cursing whoever was calling at this time of night.  The phone stopped vibrating for barely a second before starting again. 

 

Castiel glanced over to Dean, who was still in the same exact position he’d been in before the alpha fell asleep, still breathing softly, deeply, and completely undisturbed by the phone.  When the phone went off for the third time, wiggling its way across the carpet until it butted up against the leg of the nightstand and set the table to humming with vibrations, Cas rolled over, dropping his arm off the side of the bed to rescue the wayward electronic.

 

Even with his jostling of the bed, Dean still hadn’t stirred.  Castiel quickly and quietly padded out to the hallway with the angrily buzzing phone clutched to his chest.  Once he’d shut the bedroom door, he brought the phone up to his ear and answered with a gruff, “Hello?”

 

Benny’s voice came over the line, rushed and trembling.  “Cas, man, there’s been...there’s been an accident…  Hell, that ain’t what it is.”

 

“Benny?  What’s wrong?  Where are you?  Where’s Manny?”  The panic in his brother-in-law’s voice set the hairs on the back of Castiel’s neck on end.  He immediately headed towards where his sneakers lay in a heap by the apartment’s front door.

 

Benny took a deep breath before going on.  “Manny’s fine.  Some fucker set a pair of silver traps up by the river.  Got Cain and…and…Colette…”  His voice broke a little bit.  “It’s bad, brother.”

 

Castiel’s stomach turned.

 

Getting caught in a trap was one thing.  There were still people who liked to set traps for small game in the Novak pack’s forest.  Even though there were designated areas for setting up traps, away from the pack’s usual run-paths, once in a blue moon somebody would stumble upon a forgotten one.  The resulting injury was usually more nuisance than anything since wolves tended to heal pretty fast.

 

Getting caught in a silver trap was another thing entirely.  Setting a silver trap in a pack’s territory was done maliciously. 

 

“Is Donna there?” Castiel asked after swallowing down the bile that threatened to come up.

 

“She just showed up.  Called in the whole county for this one.”

 

“Where are Cain and Colette now?”

 

“Medics are still workin’ to get Cain loose.”  A sudden commotion full of snarling, yelping, and yelling rose up from the other end of the line.  “I gotta get over there before somebody gets bit.”

 

There was a knock at the apartment’s front door.  “I’ll meet you at the hospital.”

 

The call ended without goodbyes or platitudes.  Castiel stuffed his phone in the pocket of his pajama pants and opened the door, scenting his chief of security on the other side.

 

“You heard?” Victor asked, eyes roaming the immediate area for threats.

 

“Yeah.  Do you have any more information?”  He stepped back away from the door to let the other alpha into the living room.

 

“Just that Cain and Colette got tangled up in some silver traps.  The house is on lockdown.  Woke up the dayshift.  Everybody’s at their posts.  Frank’s going through border surveillance.  Jody’s down in the command center taking point.  Figured you’d want me up here.”  

 

Castiel nodded at Victor’s assumption, reaching down to grab a shoe.  “Is the household accounted for?”

 

“Yeah.  Jimmy, Amelia, and Claire came back from the run just before midnight.  Jess is awake down the hall, but the pups are all asleep.  Missouri and Naomi are home.  We’re going to get all of them centrally settled in Jimmy’s apartment, and Inias and Rachel will be with them.  Hannah’s heading down to the crime scene.  Benny and Manny are already there.  Joshua has gone with the tracking team.”

 

“What about Hael and Dean’s family?”  The alpha’s youngest sibling was away at college, but that didn’t necessarily mean that she was safe from harm if someone was after the pack, and the welfare of Dean’s family was especially precious now that the omega was so close to giving birth for the first time.

 

Victor glanced down at the tablet in his hand.  “Just got confirmation that they’ve all checked in.  Hael wants to know if she needs to come home right away.”

 

“No,” Castiel shook his head.  “She’s safer where she is for now.”

 

“You want to get to the hospital?”  Victor offered out a hand when the alpha wobbled trying to get his other shoe on.

 

“Yeah, I should be there.”  Castiel finished tying his laces before straightening and running a hand through his hair.  He didn’t want to leave Dean, but his mate was finally asleep and, short of the house catching on fire, he didn’t want to wake him.  With a sigh, he looked up at Victor.  “He’s going to be pissed when he finds you sitting here and me gone without a word.”

 

Victor chuckled softly.  “Yeah, well, he wouldn’t be the first pregnant omega I’ve dealt with.  I’ll keep things here quiet for the time being.  Ion is waiting out front with the car.  He and Ephraim will accompany you while you’re out.”

 

Castiel wasn’t the sort of pack alpha who was constantly surrounded by bodyguards, but the tone of Victor’s voice said there would be no arguing over having guards at his side as soon as he left the known safety of the house.  He nodded without complaint and opened the door to head out into the hallway.  Ephraim was already there waiting to escort him to the car.  He turned back to Victor before leaving.  “Keep my family safe.”

 

The other alpha nodded solemnly.  “They’re my family too, sir.”

 

*****

 

An ill placed foot (or shoulder or elbow, it was hard to tell) had Dean fighting to get out of the nest of covers he’d burritoed himself in during the night and to the bathroom before he peed himself.  He managed to get to the toilet and shove his pants down just in time.  With a groan of relief, he tipped his head back, eyes closed, and just enjoyed the sensation of the tension in his bladder finally releasing. 

 

Dean rubbed his eyes before glancing towards the frosted bathroom window.  It was light outside, but not too bright, so he figured it was still pretty early.  He felt like he’d slept a week; he was pretty sure he’d slept more than he had all week, at least.  While not having had his sleep disrupted by multiple trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night was nice, he now started to worry that he was going to pee enough to overflow the bowl as the seconds ticked by and the stream didn’t decrease.

 

Slowly but surely as he sat there waiting to be done, the sleep fog lifted from his brain.  Something was off.  Cas hadn’t been in the bed when Dean got up.  He gave the air a brief scent to confirm that Cas wasn’t nearby and found that underneath the always there scent of Dean-and-Cas was a faint sour note, something anxious and worried. 

 

Dean frowned at himself in the mirror as he washed his hands, and then brushed his teeth.  If Cas was still in the apartment, he would have knocked on the bathroom door to check on him by now.  Any other time, the lack of attention wouldn’t be overly concerning, but with the way the alpha had hovered close to him for the past couple of weeks, it was a sudden change in the new normal for them.

 

After shrugging into his robe and slippers, Dean shuffled out to the living room to find his errant mate.  He stopped short at the scent of another alpha in their den.

 

“Mornin’, Dean,” Victor offered when Dean cautiously rounded the corner from the hallway.

 

“Uh, hey.  Where’s Cas?”  He bypassed the living room, heading straight for the kitchen to grab a glass from the cabinet and the carafe of orange juice from the fridge.

 

“Hospital.”  The security officer came over to lean in the doorjamb between the living room and kitchen.

 

Dean gulped down half the juice before topping off the glass and returning the pitcher to the refrigerator.  When the other man didn’t immediately continue, he raised an eyebrow and prompted, “And?  I’m guessing, since I’m still here, that he wasn’t carted off to the ER in the middle of the night and I just happened to sleep right through it.”

 

“You might wanna sit down for this,” Victor warned with a grimace.

 

Dean rolled his eyes.  “I’m pregnant, not made out of glass.”

 

“Then, don’t expect me to haul your fat ass off the floor when you faint,” he retorted with a shrug before continuing.  “Somebody set a pair of silver traps out.  Cain and Colette got caught in them.”  Victor crossed over to Dean, pulling out a barstool from the kitchen island and gently nudging him to sit.  “Colette was gone before medics could get to them, bled out from a severed artery.  Cain’s in ICU in a drug induced coma while they try to stop the silver poisoning.  Medics had to amputate his left leg to get him out of the trap.”

 

“Jesus,” Dean breathed, stunned by what he had managed to sleep through.

 

“We’re in lockdown,” Victor continued.  “The sheriff’s office has gotten a couple of leads over the past hour that they’re following up on, but the guard is on high alert until there’s a suspect in custody.”

 

“Anybody else hurt?”  He picked up his juice glass, but then put it right back down again.

 

“No.  Everybody in the pack has checked in, including those who are out of town.  Your folks are all home and safe.  Donna sent Gadreel and Abner over to keep an eye on them.  Hey, uh, you mind if…?” He pointed at Dean’s glass and then the fridge.

 

“Oh, uh…no.  Go ahead.”  Dean shook his head.  “Where were the traps set?”

 

Victor poured himself a glass of juice.  He sighed at Dean’s question before answering, “Angel Bluff.”

 

Dean felt the blood rush from his head.  His hands unconsciously dropped to his belly, gripping it protectively.  “Those traps were set for us.”

 

“That would be why the house is on lockdown and I’m here with you now.”  Victor laid a gentle hand on Dean’s shoulder for support.

 

Angel Bluff was where Cas and Dean sat during every full moon to watch their packmates run around the riverbed below.  It was the place where Cas had proposed to Dean after their year-long courtship.  It was their special spot – the one place in the whole territory that held the most meaning for the couple.  Last night was the first time since Dean started running with the pack that they hadn’t gone up to Angel Bluff, but that decision hadn’t been made until less than half an hour before the run began. 

 

If Dean had gotten caught in one of the traps…

 

He barely made it to the sink before throwing up.

 

*****

 

“Alpha?”

 

Castiel turned away from the window where he had been steadfastly watching the ventilator rhythmically breathing for one of his oldest friends.  “Yes?”

 

The deputy sheriff stood a little straighter when the pack leader addressed him.  “There’s a situation in the lobby, sir.  Alpha Crowley is here.”

 

“What does he want?”  He squinted, annoyed that he would have to deal with whatever the other alpha wanted at a time like this.

 

“Says he knows who planted the silver traps, sir.”

 

Castiel frowned and stormed off the closed wing of the hospital with Ephraim, Ion, and the deputy hot on his heels.

 

By the time they made their way down to the hospital’s lobby, Crowley was alone and surrounded by half a dozen police officers and all of the Novak pack council.  The man was infuriatingly calm, despite the tension around him.  He gave Castiel a brief nod when the pack alpha appeared.

 

“Abaddon,” Crowley began without preamble.

 

“What?” Castiel furrowed a brow.

 

Crowley held up a red wolf’s tail.  “Little minx wanted to start a territory war between the Novaks and the Hellhounds, and then slink in the backdoor when neither of us were looking.”

 

“I thought she was your lackey,” Castiel stated flatly, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

“ _Was_.  Then, my cousin decided the view was better from my throne looking down, rather than on the floor looking up.”  Crowley sighed, shaking his head before setting an imploring gaze on Castiel.  “You and I don’t always see eye to eye, and there’s that little issue with Black Rock Lake that we’ve been dealing with, but you know silver traps aren’t my method of going about things.  Abaddon meant to hurt you, your mate, and your pup in the most unforgiveable way possible and she meant for my pack to suffer the consequences.”

 

Castiel narrowed his eyes at Crowley.  The two packs had been at odds with each other for more than decade, fighting over where the territorial boundary went in regards to Black Rock Reservoir.  Novak maps and the map on file with the state showed that the lake was split evenly in half with the north shore in Novak territory and the south shore in Hellhound territory, but the Hellhounds claimed that the whole lake belonged to them based on an older map on file with the county.  The massive basin served as a water supply to both packs, and if it was legally proven that the Hellhounds owned the whole lake, then the Novaks would have to pay for water usage or reroute their entire water system to a smaller, hard to access reservoir inside their territory.

 

However, despite the millions of dollars’ worth of property and utility fees on the line in the Hellhounds’ favor, Crowley did not believe in getting his hands dirty in a physical fight over territory.  He wanted to be proven right by law, not by fist.

 

“Do you have proof of Abaddon’s involvement?”  Castiel asked,

 

“Irrefutable, darling,” he drawled with a sinister smile.  It was no secret that his cousin wanted the alpha-ship of the Hellhound pack for herself and that she hated Crowley’s by-the-book running of the pack.  “I’m just sorry that my investigation into her activities wasn’t quick enough to prevent what happened last night, but I have handed over all of my evidence to your sheriff and she’s presently going over it.”

 

“Now, I’ve already taken care of the bitch,” Crowley paused to give the tail in his hand a vicious shake before continuing, “But, I have her followers all packaged up for you to do with what you will.  The one you might find of particular interest is Alistair.  He’s the bastard who built and laid the traps.”

 

Crowley growled low as his eyes narrowed towards the floor.  “You don’t do that to your own kind.”

 

"That we can agree on," Castiel murmured quietly.  Several of the others present echoed in assent.

 

Slowly and deliberately, so as to not get himself shot by a cop with an itchy trigger finger, Crowley approached the alpha, reaching out to gently grip his shoulder.  “I am genuinely glad that you and your mate are ok, Castiel.”

 

He nodded.  “Thank you for your assistance in this matter.”

 

Crowley produced a business card from the inner pocket of his suit jacket and handed it over.  “My pack accountant.  Have Cain’s medical bills sent to us and we’ll take care of them.  While he’s no longer a Hellhound, he’s always been better family than Abaddon, even if he did abandon us for a pair of pretty blue Novak eyes.”

 

Castiel could have sworn that Crowley’s eyes were a bit misty when he stepped back, but he dismissed the idea as the other alpha gave a sharp turn and headed out of the hospital.  He felt the last bit adrenaline disappear and his shoulders slumped involuntarily.

 

Hannah appeared at his side, sliding an arm around his waist for both support and comfort.  “Go home, brother.  I promise the council and the sheriff’s office will handle this.  The doctors say Cain won’t wake up for at least 48 hours, but he won’t be alone for a single minute.  We’ve had plenty of offers from the pack to come sit with him.  You don’t need to be here.  You need to be at home with Dean right now.  He and the pup are your first priority.  The pack is mine.”

 

He leaned into his sister, letting her strength carry him for a moment before nodding.  From the corner of his eye, he saw Ion rush from the lobby to get the car.  “The pack is in your hands, Hannah.”

 

With a gentle smile, she placed a kiss to his cheek and handed him off to Ephraim while the others in the lobby began to disperse to start processing suspects, notifying the pack of new developments, and handling various other tasks that needed to be done in the wake of last night’s incident.

 

*****

 

A warm hand came to rub between Dean’s shoulder blades as he retched into the sink.

 

“Easy,” came a deep familiar voice.

 

Dean’s head whipped up, taking in the beautiful sight of his exhausted mate.  The pungent scent of vomit had momentarily masked the scent of the alpha’s return.  Dean grabbed hold of Cas, drawing him close and nearly squeezing the life out of him.

 

“I’ll head out,” Victor said.

 

“Thank you, Victor,” Cas replied, kneading the muscles of Dean’s lower back as had become his habit over the last several months whenever he had the omega in his arms.

 

They stood there in silence for several long moments after the door to the apartment clicked closed before Castiel reached out to rinse the sink down.

 

“It’s over,” the alpha whispered softly against Dean’s temple before going into detail about what had happened the night before and what had transpired at the hospital with Crowley.  They were both crying and trembling by the time he was finished.  Castiel cupped Dean’s face in his hands, pressing their foreheads together.  “It’s over.  It’s over.”

 

Dean nodded, giving a shaky laugh when their pup rolled over between them, briefly making it look like he was smuggling a watermelon horizontally under his shirt.  “C’mon, alpha.  Let’s go back to bed.

 


End file.
